NET/MASTER Management Services (MS) Operator's Guide

Glossary
Glossary–16 106379 Tandem Computers Incorporated
internal validation rules. Options specified in the #FLD panel control statement that
determine how input is validated by Panel Services before it is passed to an NCL
process.
interpreter. The NonStop NET/MASTER MS entity that interprets an object and
executes its opcodes.
IS process. See inter-system services process.
ISR. See Inter-System Routing.
iterative. Repetitive. Normally refers to a DO loop.
key. A value associated with a record (such as a record number) or contained within a
record (such as a field) that can be used to locate one record or a subset of records in a
user database.
key field. Part of a map header or element header. The value contained in the key field
of a data item is the name of the map used by Mapping Services to interpret the data
item.
key value. The (numeric) internal representation of the symbolic name of a map: for
example, $MSG is represented internally by a key value of 2 in the header of a mapped
data object variable.
key-sequenced file. A Tandem structured Enscribe file, consisting of variable-length
records that are accessed by the values contained within designated key fields. The
records in a key-sequenced user database are stored logically in ascending order,
according to the value contained in their primary key field.
keyword. Following a NonStop NET/MASTER MS command, a keyword is the first
part of a qualifier. It modifies the action of the command to the extent specified by the
value that follows. Within an NCL statement, a keyword is a sequence of alphabetic
characters that has a predefined meaning when used in a particular context.
label. Within an NCL statement, a label is a symbol or quoted string (excluding
hexadecimal and binary strings) that ends in a colon (:) and begins a statement. Labels
are used to mark segments of code.
length field. Part of a map header or element header. The value contained in the length
field is the length of the data item. The length of the length field is normally included
in the length of a data item.
length variable specification. A variable specification on a VARS list that specifies the
maximum amount of data (in bytes) that a variable can hold.
lexical element. The smallest meaningful unit within an NCL procedure. There are five
types of lexical elements: symbols, quoted strings, variables, operators, and special
characters.
library. A subvolume in which NCL source files, NCL object files, or panel description
files are kept.
line continuation character. The character used to continue an NCL statement over more
than one line: in NCL, a comma (,).